FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 47 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JULY 31, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.com Sports Meet India’s first double Olympic medallist P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Nation NATURE UNLEASHES FURY P.7 MONEY India updates trade advisory for its SMEs doing biz with China Cinema Training and shooting P.16 NATURAL DISASTER: Water, rocks, mud sweep down from hills 128 dead, 3,000 displaced in Wayanad landslide Cong MLA from Gwalior booked for assault Manu teams up with Sarabjot to claim historic 2nd bronze Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL ANI WAYANAD (KERALA) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that 128 bodies have been recovered and 128 people have been injured after massive landslides hit hilly areas near Meppadi in Kerala's Wayanad district. He further said that 3,069 people are in 45 relief camps in Wayanad alone, and five ministers are coordinating the efforts of the relief and rescue operations. Addressing the press conference, Vijayan said, "The landslide in Wayanad is a heart-wrenching disaster. There was extremely heavy rainfall. An entire area has been wiped out. We have recovered 128 bodies so far, but the numbers may change. There are 128 people receiving treatment for injuries. Many who went to sleep last night have been swept away." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for family of each deceased. "Upon learning of the disaster, both the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi, along with various party leaders, have offered their assistance. They have assured us that we will work together to address this (T) A damaged car at the landslide site in Wayanad (R) Rescue operation underway Why it happened 2-day mourning Warming of the Arabian Sea is allowing the formation of deep cloud systems, leading to extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala in a shorter period and increasing the possibility of landslides, Abhilash, the director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) said on Tuesday. Following the devastating landslide in Wayanad the Kerala government on Tuesday declared state mourning for two days. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government is deeply saddened by the tragic incident that claimed numerous lives and resulted in the widespread destruction of homes and other property. crisis," he said. The chief minister said that the state government has ar- ranged the best possible treatment for the injured, adding that several people are still Cabinet okays funds to give cylinder at Rs 450 to ladli behnas fp Briefs NEW DELHI SC bail for Anubrata The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal, who was arrested by the CBI in a cattle smuggling case. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma granted the relief to Mondal after noting that the trial in the matter would take time and he has been in jail for two years. JAIPUR IPS set free in extortion case A special court in Ajmer on Tuesday acquitted all 15 people, including 11 SHOs and an IPS officer, accused in a decade-old case involving an alleged extortion racket. The court acquitted them giving them benefit of doubt. JAMMU CM Mohan Yadav presides over the cabinet meeting at Mantralaya on Tuesday Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL To ensure that Ladli Behnas get gas cylinder at the subsidized rate of Rs 450, Cabinet approved two schemes for payment of subsidy amount on gas cylinder refill to all gas connection holders under Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana (PMUY) and gas connection holder Ladli Behana under non PMUY on Tuesday. An expenditure of Rs 160 crore will be borne by the state government in this regard. In his statement, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that Raksha Bandhan festival is on the cards. On August 1, Rs 250 will be transferred into the accounts of Ladli Behnas for Rakhi. Along with Rs 90L ex-gratia Cabinet decided to provide special ex gratia of Rs 90 lakh to the family of deceased ASI Naresh Kumar Sharma (district Chhindwara). As per the policy of government, the amount would be split in two equal parts. Rs 45 lakh will be given to the parents and Rs 45 lakh will be given to the wife of deceased. trapped under the debris and rescue operations are underway. "Many people are still trapped under the debris. We have opened 45 relief camps in Wayanad and a total of 118 camps across the state, accommodating 5,531 people. 4Continued on | P6 Two killed as train derails PTI JAMSHEDPUR Two persons were killed and 20 others injured after at least 18 coaches of the HowrahMumbai Mail derailed in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district early on Tuesday. The accident occurred at 3:45 AM near Barabamboo, around 80 km from Jamshedpur, under the Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway (SER). SER spokesperson Om Prakash Charan said there was another derailment of a goods train nearby, but it was not yet clear whether the two accidents occurred simultaneously. 4Continued on | P6 4Continued on | P6 Silver medalists Turkey’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec, gold medalists Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Serbias Mikec Damir and bronze medalists India’s Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh click a selfie on the podium during Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Tuesday PTI CHATEAUROUX A calm and composed Manu Bhaker scripted history to become the first Indian athlete in post-independence era to win two Olympic medals in a single edition of the Games as she combined with an equally unruffled Sarabjot Singh to clinch the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze here on Tuesday. The Indian pair defeated the Korean duo of Lee Wonoho and Oh Yeh Jin 16-10 to earn the country its second medal at Chateauroux's shooting range. The 22-year-old Bhaker had earlier snared the women's 10m air pistol bronze medal at the same venue on Sunday, wiping off the memories of a horrendous Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 where her pistol malfunctioned leaving her in tears. Before her, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics but that achievement had come in the pre-In- Mayor tables Rs 8,302 cr budget; hike in property, water taxes Passed by voice vote in absence of opposition PTI Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed misleading claims by opposition leaders that if any state is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation. Replying to a Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Si- INDORE After a gap of 15 years, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) gave a financial blow to residents by increasing water cess by 50 per cent and property tax by Rs 3 to Rs 7 per square feet through its budget for financial year 2024-25. Though there is no increase in door-to-door garbage collection charges from residential and commercial buildings, a hike ranging from 14 per cent to 22 per cent is done in bulk collection of garbage from institutions. Besides, parking charges realised at the time of purchase of vehicles have also been increased of all vehicles valued above Rs 50k. Likewise, the IMC will also charge two per cent green cess from now. 4Continued on | P6 Student discount While Usha, Asha and other women supervisors will get 75 per cent discount in city bus travel, students coming from others cities to Indore for studying in coaching centres will get a flat 25 per cent discount in city bus fare. tharaman asserted that no state was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA government also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech. I would like to ask the members of the UPA government at that time - did money not go to those 17 states? Did they stop it?" Sitharaman said. She was responding to comments by several opposition members that the Budget has provided funds only to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and nothing to other states. Responding to a remark by TMC leader Saugata Roy that the JNU-educated Finance Minister is "bereft of new ideas", Sitharaman retorted by saying that even the Chief Minister and Finance Minister of West Bengal have studied from the University of Calcutta (not from Harvard or Oxford). "I want to ask him, are they too bereft of ideas?" 4Continued on | P6 Cartoonists entitled to freedom of expression: Ker HC Kerala HC quashes case against Malayala Manorama over ‘insulting’ national flag THIRUVANANTHAPURAM A 27-year-old man was killed in an attack by a black bear in a forest in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. Mohd Cheriya, a resident of Saroor, was attacked by the beast at Halander around 8 am when he was grazing his cattle in the forest area, the officials said. The Kerala High Court has held that cartoonists, being a part and parcel of the Press and Media, are entitled to Freedom of Expression guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India. The Court thus quashed proceedings initiated against the Printer and Publisher, Editorial Director, Managing Editor, Editor and Chief Edi- Agencies tor of Kerala news daily 'Malayala Manorama', under Section 2 of Prevention of Insult To National Honour Act, 1971 for allegedly insulting the National Flag. The specific case was that Malayala Manorama, in connection with the 70th Independence Day celebrations, published a caricature depicting Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian flag, with the top side of saffron portion of the flag outlined with a black line. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan observed that the small picturization of a cartoonist creates powerful visual commentary that engages, provokes and inspires the audience. The Court said: The complaint was filed 56 madarsas’ recognition cancelled in Sheopur BHOPAL offgrid Man killed by wild bear dependence era. While it is a massive achievement for women's sport in the country, Tuesday's medal is also redemption for Sarabjot, who had failed to make the men's 10m air pistol final, finishing ninth on Saturday with a score of 577. "I'm feeling really proud and there is a lot of gratitude, thanks for all the blessings" said Bhaker after the match, which the two young Indians played with remarkable poise to make it a one-sided contest. Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter No state denied money, says Sitharaman NEW DELHI this, government will provide gas cylinder at the rate of Rs 450 to 40 lakh Ujwala Gas connection-holder Ladli Behnas. The remaining amount of gas cylinder refilling will be paid by the state government. A Congress MLA from Gwalior Rural Assembly Constituency, Sahab Singh Gurjar, and several others were booked for allegedly assaulting women in Gwalior district, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred at MLA Gurjar's residence in the Ohadpur, Mahalgaon locality on Monday when a group of women, along with men, went to meet the MLA regarding their electricity issues. After the incident, they approached the SP office to lodge a complaint, the police said. SP Dharmaveer Singh said that a written complaint was made by Munni Lodhi, a resident of Mau Pahari locality. Taking cognizance of her complaint, prima facie, an FIR has been registered against Congress MLA Sahab Singh Gurjar and a few unknown persons. The case has been registered under sections 115 (2), 296, 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sahita (BNS), 2023, and further investigation is underway, he added. The complainant told the police that the matter was related to an electric transformer. Before the elections, they were promised the installation of the transformer and had met with the MLA several times in the past. by the Area Committee General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The petitioners had approached the High Court seeking quashing of FIR and Final Report. Petitioners submitted that Malayala Manorama has a tradition and they would never disrespect or dishonour the National Flag or Mahatma Gandhi. It was stated that the cartoonist was expressing his freedom as an artist to celebrate Indepen- dence Day by using a caricature. The Court found that a caricature involves exaggerating or distorting the physical features, personalities, or characteristics of individuals to create humorous, satirical, or critical effects. The Court noted that a cartoonist has the power to speak volumes through a small caricature. The Court stated that the term “insult” is an essential ingredient to attract an of- fence punishable under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult To National Honour Act. Section 2 prescribes punishment of up to 3 years imprisonment with a fine or both for causing Insult to the Indian National Flag and Constitution. The Court noted that since the term 'insult' was not defined in the Act, the Court must refer to its ordinary meaning. 4Continued on | P6 As many as 56 madarsas were found not fully operational in Sheopur. On the basis of the report of the District Education Officer Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board has issued orders to cancel the recognition of these madarsas. It was reported that 80 recognized madarsas are operating in Sheopur district. Among these, there are 54 such madarsas which are getting grants from the state government. Secretary Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board Nitin Saxena said that in the surprise inspection of District Education Officer, 56 Madarsas were found non operational in Sheopur and their recognition have been cancelled. Madarsa Board asked all District Education Officers across to do physical inspection of the madarsas operating in their area. If any Madarsa is not functioning as per the rules of the government then a proposal, requesting to cancel its recognition, shall be sent to the Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board. The help given by school department to such madarsas will be stopped immediately. S chool Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh has given instructions to speed up the physical verification of madarsas operating in the state. He said that action should be taken to cancel the recognition of those madarsas which are not being operated as per the rules. Along with this, physical verification of private educational institutions should also be carried out at a fast pace.